The Color of Humility

“There is nothing noble

in being superior to your fellow man;

true nobility

is being superior to your former self.” 

(Ernest Hemingway)

A dusty old memory: An embarrassing moment of forgetfulness during a Sunday School Christmas pageant when I was about seven years old. This moment of fear left an indelible mark upon me. For decades to follow, a quiet voice reminded me that I was an untalented person. In false humility, I looked up to those I perceived as gifted, even as I derided my own abilities.  

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself;

it is thinking of yourself less.” 

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

As I have grown over the years, that voice of judgment has become subdued, a bare whisper of wind on dark days. I have learned that I am a gift to our world, full to the brim with wondrous potential, all of which is ignited and set ablaze by Love. This perhaps, does not sound terribly humble; therein is the twist. Humility is not about denying our greatness; humility stands in awe of one's own greatness even as it exalts in the beauty of every being it meets.

“Be careful

not to mistake insecurity

and inadequacy for humility!

Humility has nothing to do with the insecure and inadequate!

Just like arrogance has nothing to do with greatness!” 

(C. JoyBell C.)

Love has spent a lifetime shaping us, smoothing rough edges, and shinning radiantly through the cracks of our clay shell. It in no way desires that we deny its power as expressed through our unique gifts and experiences. There is no one else on earth that is just like you; no other expression of Divine Light will touch the world in the same way as that which flows through you. 

The challenge of humility then is to know and honor your strength, your power, your ability to heal this world, and to do so quietly within the sanctuary of your own heart. In this way, you are freed to be brilliant even as you draw out the brilliance of others. Is this not our mission - to be secure in who we are so that we might be agents of change and renewal for all of creation? 

“It is not for me to judge another man's life.

I must judge, I must choose,

I must spurn, purely for myself.

For myself, alone.” 

(Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha)

As tempting as it is to lift ourselves up by tearing others down, in so doing we only deny our deepest truth: We are beautifully created and wonderfully made. Even so, we will not navigate this world perfectly. The glass of our being, through which the Light of Love shines, is easily smudged, sometimes even caked with life's detritus. Humility then is knowing the Light that endeavors to pour through us, even as we yearn to discover that same light flowing through our neighbor.

I count it an awesome privilege when I am given the sight to see Love pouring from those wherein I least expected to find it. May the Love that you are exalt in the Love that defines others. 

I leave the last word to a humble man, Martin Luther:

“True humility does not know that it is humble.

If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation

of so fine a virtue.”
(Martin Luther)

The color of humility...

the strength of the bridge rejoicing in the vibrations of traffic.

I looked

in the

mirror

and wept

with

Joy

For I saw

there

the face

of

my

enemy

Pray

Laugh

Shine

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14.11)

- From Islam: "Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers, and who shun vain conversation, and who are payers of the poor-due, and who guard their modesty." 

(Qur'an 23.1-5)

- From Hinduism: 

"Be humble, be harmless,

Have no pretension,

Be upright, forbearing;

Serve your teacher in true obedience,

Keeping the mind and body in cleanness,

Tranquil, steadfast, master of ego,

Standing apart from the things of the senses,

Free from self;

Aware of the weakness in mortal nature.

                  (Bhagavad Gita 13.7-8)

The Color of Entrepreneurs

“There’s lots of bad reasons to start a company.

But there’s only one good, legitimate reason,

and I think you know what it is:

it’s to change the world.” 

(Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote)

I have, for the bulk of my working years, been an employee rather than an employer. I began serving the world and earning money in elementary school when I would help my next-door-neighbor with his paper route when he was away. At 15 I began work at Macleods Hardware, followed by a summer in the Junior Forest Ranger program, then on to grocery deliveries at Lindhal's grocery. Life after high school introduced me to a long line of people and companies willing to take me under their employ.

Through all of those jobs and employers I do not recall stopping to consider the perspective of the people taking the risks as entrepreneurs. And there are huge risks. As employees our mission is simple - do the tasks assigned, change the world, get paid, go home. If the position comes with benefits such as health and dental or pension then we enjoy those perks without consideration of the cost to the company employing us. The owner of a business, however, does not have the luxury of such simplicity. 

In addition to ensuring that they make a living for their own household, employers have the responsibility of providing income for each of their employees. While wage-earners may find their work day book-ended with specific start and end times, owners work as many hours as are needed to make the business function. The responsibility that comes with taking on an employee can weigh heavy on an business man or woman.

“Inviting someone to work for pay

is a sacred privilege and a trust.

It must be regarded a high honor

to be able to give another person work,

and neither employer nor employee

should abuse this relationship” 

(Judy Frankel)

While I do not suggest that all business owners and corporations are just in their relationships to those they employ, as a whole they provide the backbone for our economy. Most of us have neither the skills nor the interest in being owners. We are content to receive our wages and have our evenings and weekends free for other things. We end our work days blissfully unaware that our employers may be working late into the evening and through the weekend to ensure that we have jobs to go to in the morning.

“The secret to successful hiring is this:

look for the people who want to change the world.” 

(Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce)

Entrepreneurs have the potential to make positive change in our world by creating opportunities for employees to use their gifts in a meaningful way. The many jobs in which I've been employed over the years have opened doors to meet people, encourage them, and in some way, great or small, make their lives a little bit better. If not for a willing employer those opportunities would never have arisen.

I am deeply grateful for all of business owners in my city. These women and men weave their employees and clients into the fabric that is our community. They take huge risks to do their work, they put in long hours, and sometimes at the end of the month, especially in hard economic times, they have little to show for it. Still, they mentor us, give us hope, and month by month by month... they provide our paycheck. This is Love in action, Love flowing through us, through employers, through communities.

Give thanks today for the entrepreneurial spirit that guides the employers in your life. 

I leave the last word to Ziad Abkelnour:

“Job tip:

If you were the employer,

what kind of person

would you most desire as an employee?

Be that person.” 

(Ziad K. Abdelnour, Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics)

The color of entrepreneurs...

workforce parents.

We danced

together

you and

I

the music

of

economy

guiding our feet

and together

we

thrived

Work

Laugh

Pray

For Further Reflection:
- From the Bible: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..." (Colossians 3.23)

- From Sikhism: "One who claims to be a saint, and goes about begging - touch not his feet! He whose livelihood is earned through work, and part given away in charity - such a one, Nanak, truly knows the way to God. " ( Adi Granth, Var Sarang, M.1, p. 1245)

- From Hinduism: "Work is worship." (Virashaiva Proverb)

The Color of Being True to Yourself

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

(W. Shakespeare, "Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3)

I will risk a certain vulnerability with you in the following story: From my father I was mentored in relating to creatures with gentleness and patience. Form frogs to cattle, dogs to birds, my dad had a gift for honoring the life of animals. He taught me that our animal companions, domestic or wild, are to be loved deeply, respected for their unique place in our lives, and on this earth. 

It is with sorrow then that I recount a scene that unfolded many years ago, at a more emotionally impoverished time of my life. Anna and I were the fortunate recipients of a canine companion whom we named "Duchess." She was the epitome of gentleness, with a large dose of puppy curiosity. 

One evening when Anna was out, Duchess and I had an altercation. I had left some plates with chicken bones on the kitchen counter. From another room I heard the cutlery rattle in the kitchen. Duchess was standing with her paws on the counter pre-cleaning the plates. I verbally reprimanded her and returned to the living room. Moments later I heard the rattle again. 

I stormed into the kitchen seeing red, and in a moment of anger I drew my foot back to kick Duchess. Had I connected it would have broken her ribs. She, however, read my body language, and in a universe-laughing-at-me moment timed her crouch perfectly. My kick passed harmlessly (for her) over her back and connected firmly with the underside of the counter, shattering my second toe. Karma I suppose.

My actions went against everything I had been taught, and indeed held to be desirable, regarding the treatment of animals. In short, I violated a core value, and in so doing caused injury in countless ways. 

“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one.

It does not worry. It does not try to crush others.

It keeps to its course,

but by its very nature, it gently influences.

What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore?

The moon is faithful to its nature

and its power is never diminished.” 

(Ming-Dao Deng, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony)

I look back on that scene with compassion and understanding, for both Duchess and myself. It was not my best moment, however, it does serve to remind me that there is a great cost to be paid in not being true to myself. At the core, at the quintessential and elemental levels, I am an expression of Love. So are you! It is to this axiom that human growth beacons our adherence - be true to yourself, for you are Love.

“A lot of the conflict you have in your life

exists simply because you're not living in alignment;

you're not be being true to yourself.” 

(Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You)

There are a number of decisions that will face you in the coming week - at work, in your relationships, in charting the course of your life. This may guide you: know your core values, build those values on the Love that you are, and act in concordance with those values. Then, and only then, will you experience the freedom of integrity and calm with your inner being.

 As you be true to yourself you are empowered to change our world, to be a miracle-worker, sowing seeds of laughter, healing, joy, and wonder. The cost for such change is never too high, for it is paid for in the simple act of being what you have always and truly been - you!

Be true to yourself, today and all days. I leave the last word to author, Jennifer DeLucy:

“If nothing else in this long and short life,

let me be true to my conscience,

to the dignity of my own heart.

Let me act in a way that says,

I have honored my spirit

as truly as I have honored others'.

Let me stand tall and rooted as a mountain

in the face of a quaking world.” 

(Jennifer DeLucy)

The color of being true to yourself...

integrity in motion.

The sun shines

not for plants

or

sun tans

or

sparkling waves

but because

it is

its

nature

Be true

Shine

Breathe

Pray

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways." (Proverbs 28.6)

- From Sikhism: "Falsehood shall be destroyed; truth in the end shall prevail." (Adi Granth, Ramkali Ki Var, M.1, p. 953)

- From Buddhism: "Every being has the Buddha Nature. This is the self." (Mahaparinirvana Sutra 214)

The Color of Love…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” 

(Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches)

A while back I came across this quotation: "Everyone needs to be loved especially when they don't deserve it." At first glance it seems a graceful offering of wisdom, however, listen a bit more carefully to the oxymoron embedded in the text. It is this - the words "love" and "deserve" do not sit well together.

This reminds me of a story that I came across years ago about an impoverished family living in the Bronx, New York. A single-parent family, the mother worked long hours to provide food and shelter for her children. Though times were tough they managed to stay together, stay in school and, mostly, to stay out of trouble. The youngest though, was more deeply broken by their circumstances than his siblings, and tended to express his pain through rebellion and lashing out. Now, mother had skimped and saved a few dollars here and there over the years and had a small nest-egg put away in a tin to help send one of the children to college. The youngest found the stash, stole it and spent it on a gun and drugs. He was arrested...

An older sister raged to their mother, "I hate him. I hate him for what he did, for what he has taken from us - your hard work, our dreams. I just hate him." With tears in her eyes, this life-worn, thread-bare mom responded to her daughter, "Don't hate him baby. it is when we are most difficult to love that we need to be loved the most. When we are completely lost we need love to come find us. Don't hate him, love him back to us."

“Love - not dim and blind

but so far-seeing that it can glimpse around corners,

around bends and twists and illusion;

instead of overlooking faults,

love sees through them to the secret inside.” 

(Vera Nazarian, Salt of the Air)

I've heard it often enough in our society - he/she deserves what they get. I've seen it in the Alberta redneck culture; if someone is an arsehole they deserve to be treated like an arsehole. There seems to be a certain karmic logic to this; Jesus said, we reap what we sow. Problem is, Love is all about healing and renewal, life and laughter. The person that we write-off as useless is a gifted human being that has not realized their own worth. Living the Love that we are means, in part, that we search for and draw out the Love that is within others, without regard to any sense of worthiness.

“A friend is someone who knows all about you

and still loves you.” 

(Elbert Hubbard)

Love does not discriminate between the deserving, or the undeserving. Love - the immense, indescribable power that called the universe into existence, that holds the planets in their orbits, that causes sunshine to sparkle on ocean waves like the glimmer of a million diamonds - this Love heals hearts, erupts as laughter in children, delights in the soaring eagle, the playful dolphins, the joy of first-time parents. This immense Love surrounds and fills all that is, all the time. This awesome power that is Love seeks out and soaks into the most vile offender with the same passion and yearning as it does the most enlightened saint.

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” 

(Lao Tzu)

There is a temptation to commodify love, to offer it to the most deserving, those easiest to love. What we would be giving then would not be pure Love, but rather a shallow and poor forgery that seeps from the wounded ego. This love impostor is powerless to make a healing change in our world, is impotent as a life-giving agent, and can in no way draw our hearts into deeper life. But Love, pure, flowing through us, this Love - this makes a difference. 

Wherever you work today, wherever your path takes you, try this out: instead of giving what is "deserved," offer from your heart what is needed. In so doing you will be an agent of healing, a part of the renewal of our world. 

I leave the last word to Paul:

"Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres."

(1 Corinthians 13)

The color of Love...

seeking the lost.

Love

erodes us

until

we 

are only

itself

Be

the Love

that

You are

Breathe

Pray

Laugh

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "God is love." (1 John 4.8)

- From Hinduism: "To love is to know Me, My innermost nature, The truth that I am." (Bhagavad Gita 18.55)

- From Unification Church: "What is God? God is an existence that absolutely lives for others." (Sun Myung Moon, 4-16-88)

The Color of Carrying the World

"She carried an old globe as she walked,

a garage sale find;

carried it as though bearing the earth

but lightly in her hands."

(B. Harder, Random Musings)

I was enjoying coffee with Anna in the Sundre, Alberta cafe one day last summer when I noticed a woman crossing the street. She had a bag in one hand, and in the other she hefted a basketball-sized globe of the earth - the kind we used to have in our elementary classrooms. It was an intriguing image, this woman who walked with purpose, her feet drawn to their destination, and along for the ride... was the whole world.

I've been thinking about this woman and her globe for the last week, pondering the implications of holding the earth lightly in our hands. The image evokes both blessing and indictment. On the one hand we humans have been particularly gifted with innate abilities and tools to bring the earth to marvelous fruition. At our best we tend the earth and its creatures in such a way that all life flourishes. This is blessing.

On the other hand we have chosen lifestyles that take from the earth without giving back. Our level of over, and very much unnecessary, consumption seriously jeopardize the well-being of generations that have not yet been conceived. This is indictment.

“Western civilization is a loaded gun

pointed at the head of this planet.” 

(Terence McKenna)

As a culture we have not only made it acceptable to over-consume, we have made it necessary. Much of our self-image and self-worth are grounded in what we own. In addition, we have created economic systems that depend upon high levels of consumption. To make a living, retail business owners must sell goods - mountains of goods. We the buyers must purchase these goods - and then dispose of them to make room for further consumption.

“The earth will not continue to offer its harvest,

except with faithful stewardship.

We cannot say we love the land

and then take steps to destroy it for use

by future generations.” 

(Pope John Paul II)

Blessing and Indictment. We carry the earth, each of us in our own way. None of us are innocent, none absolutely guilty. We carry the earth - each time we plant a seed and nourish its growth; when we reclaim land disrupted by resource extraction; when we love and care for creatures; when we reduce, reuse, and recycle. We carry the earth in our gratitude, our compassion, and our stewardship.

I see no easy answer to over-consumption in the near future; I too will continue to drive my vehicle, replace broken things in my home, buy clothes, art, tools... but I am aware, when I look at my grandsons, that their children's well-being balances precariously upon my choices.

I leave the last word to scientist, Stephen Jay Gould:

“We have become,

by the power of a glorious evolutionary accident called intelligence,

the stewards of life's continuity on earth.

We did not ask for this role, but we cannot abjure it.

We may not be suited to it,

but here we are.” 

(Stephen Jay Gould, The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History)

The color of carrying the world...

obligation and opportunity.

A stranger

handed me a

kitten

I do not know

about

kittens

So I listened

to the

cat

and learned

Pause

Breathe

Listen

To Ponder Further:
- From the Bible: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." (Genesis 2.15)

- From Islam: "Someone said, "O Messenger of God, will we then have a reward for the good done to our animals?" "There will be a reward," he replied, "for anyone who gives water to a being that has a tender heart." (Hadith of Bukhari)

- From Buddhism: "As a mother with her own life guards the life of her own child, let all-embracing thoughts for all that lives be thine." (Khuddaka Patha, Metta Sutta)

The Color of Changing the World, Part II

“Love people who hate you.

Pray for people who have wronged you.

It won’t just change their life…

it’ll change yours.” 

(Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass)

A local funeral director phoned the other day to ask if I would attend to the grief needs of one of their client families. This was above and beyond, care that comes from the heart, not the bottom line. He made a difference in that family's life; he made us all a little better by his kindness.

A year ago Vanessa Smith of St. Catharines, Ontario donated 63% of her liver to a fellow hockey parent in need of a transplant. Vanessa has six children, and she is not afraid to be who she is, and in so doing, to change the course of humanity. 

Last winter Mark Przybylowski and Paula Malolepszy toured the west end of Montreal helping people shovel their cars out of a massive dump of snow. They didn't have to do this... but they did. It was just random acts of kindness that reveal the brilliance of humanity at its best. 

“You are here

in order to enable the world

to live more amply,

with greater vision,

with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.

You are here to enrich the world.” 

(Woodrow Wilson)

While I understand the inclination to engage BMW's (bitching, moaning and whining; not to mention outright complaining), I know that this is not the kind of world changing that expresses humanity's genius. Quite simply, we are better that that. We are creatures filled to the brim with powers that can address our greatest needs, push back the darkness, and give life from other galaxies a reason to meet us. 

“There's always a story. It's all stories, really.

The sun coming up every day is a story.

Everything's got a story in it.

Change the story, change the world.” 

(Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky)

Our words and actions, even our thoughts, and perhaps our feelings - all are choices we get to make. We can choose to complain; or we can choose to live a different story. Well I'm choosing this day to change the story of grumbling to a story of gratitude, kindness, and compassion. Together, we do amazing things. We feed the hungry, provide shelter, care for our world, and initiate countless random of acts of kindness every moment. We will overwhelm the world with such brilliance; overwhelm and heal it. 

“Human potential is amazing.

We have the capacity to create a world that is peaceful;

one that spreads kindness and love rather than hatred.

If we believe it to be so, it will be our truth,

and we will create it.” 

(Kristi Bowman, Journey to One: A Woman's Story of Emotional Healing and Spiritual Awakening)

In the face of political, economic, and ideological uncertainty, perhaps even chaos, the time has never been more ripe for all of us to expose our greatest strengths - gratitude, kindness, and compassion (and perhaps a good helping of playfulness for good measure). Resist the temptation to social media slandering, coffee shop complaining, and the accompanying sense of powerlessness. Instead, be the bright Light and Love that you are created to be. Change the world...

I leave the last word to Sri Chinmoy:

“Do you want to change the world?

Then change yourself first.

Do you want to change yourself?

Then remain completely silent inside the silence-sea.” 

(Sri Chinmoy, Meditation: Man-perfection in God-satisfaction)

The color of changing the world... 

being the real you.

A mirror

can only reveal

that

which stands

before

So too

do

words

unveil

the heart

Breathe

Pray

Love

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4.13)

- From Islam: "Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness." (Qur'an 39.10)

- From Buddhism: "...goodwill alone, which is the heart's release, shines and burns and flashes forth in surpassing them." (Itivuttaka 19)